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dusktreader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Death, Medical content, Bullying, and Abandonment
radhikag's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I’m so happy these books exist, I can’t wait to re read them time and time again. I think everyone should read these but esp queer Bay Area people lol because it’s beautiful to see all the details I recognize and know about my home and city and just ugh!! Too good!
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Some quotes I love:
"You can't worry about other people's feelings about what you're creating," Joan said. "That will suffocate you. You have to do what your heart desires."
“[Her] physical body may be gone now, but who she was is not gone. She was more than her body, just as we are all more than our bodies. She was connected with all of you. You influenced her, and she influenced you, and that influence continued.”
The urn was beautiful. It had a round belly and an elegantly curved neck and a perfectly fitted kid, and it had been glazed in some way that left brilliant sea green steaks and dark blue flecks on the surface. As if the sea had been burned into the clay.
My stomach was a hollow inside me.
“Everything [she] taught you goes on. The thoughts that arise in your mind when you think of her are still influenced by her.”
The hollow was growing. I would become a sinkhole.
Susan Douglas lot a candle on the altar. A thin trickle of smoke rose from the march. “Earth returning to earth, fire returning to fire, wind returning to wind, water returning to water.” (309)
Moderate: Death, Medical content, and Sexual content
Minor: Lesbophobia, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Outing, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Pandemic/Epidemic, Bullying, and Xenophobia
bi_n_large's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Medical trauma, Death, Sexual content, Infidelity, and Bullying
Moderate: Grief, Lesbophobia, and Homophobia
Minor: Racism
kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Biphobia, Bullying, Grief, Death, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, Infidelity, Outing, Sexual violence, and Misogyny
leweylibrary's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I feel like a lot about Aria's character resonated with me, not sure what that said about me exactly lol, but I do enjoyed reading her POV as she went through this tumultuous summer before college. She doesn't always make the best decisions, but that's part of growing up and starting to figure out who you really are. They're are quite a few possible triggers in this book, so be sure to check those. There's also one scene that's quite spicy for a YA book 🔥
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Homophobia, Grief, Classism, Bullying, and Sexual content
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Death, Medical content, Racism, Racial slurs, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, and Alcohol
calicat42's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
It’s a beautiful companion novel to “Last Night at the Telegraph Club”, with another incredible narrator who allows you to experience the journey of finding oneself through complicated family dynamics, high school, and relationships. I wish I could read it again for the first time!
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Chronic illness, Grief, Death, Abandonment, Bullying, Sexual content, and Toxic friendship
melliedm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
A Scatter of Light follows Aria, a young woman in her year between high school and college, spending it with her grandmother instead of her friends because lewd photos taken without her consent were leaked by a boy. Yeah. I know. But stick with me. At her grandmother's in California, Aria meets the gardener taking care of the old property, a butch named Steph, who not only gives Aria a support network in California, but who (along with her queer friend group) act as a gateway for Aria to discover herself outside of the definitions placed on her by the society she came from.
Scatter of Light is a beautiful, poignant coming of age and coming out more than a romance (though Aria does explore a romance). It's got mistakes, grief, confusion—hope. Aria's coming out experience resonated with me so clearly, making this a ride to the stratosphere and back. I cannot recommend it enough. I was a puddle of tears by the end (some sad, some happy) I cannot wait to see what Lo does next.
Graphic: Infidelity and Death of parent
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Sexual harassment, Bullying, Sexism, Homophobia, and Lesbophobia
emfass's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Death, Sexual harassment, Infidelity, and Bullying
Moderate: Grief, Sexual content, Medical content, Dementia, Death of parent, Biphobia, Lesbophobia, Toxic relationship, and Misogyny
Before the beginning of the book (thought she recounts it in detail), main character has topless photos taken of her without her consent, and the boy who took them puts them online and everyone she knows sees them. Her mother also shames her for this.sarah984's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Infidelity and Sexual content
Moderate: Alcohol, Medical content, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Death
Minor: Dementia, Homophobia, Racism, Sexual assault, Cancer, Drug use, Transphobia, Bullying, and Classism
hobbithopeful's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This is a queer coming of age novel that follows teenage Aria during the years that gay marriage is legalized. Fantastic read, just didn't have the magic of the other book for me.
This is also touted as being a "companion novel" to Last Night at the Telegraph Club. In my opinion this is not really true, we get a brief mention of the characters but they never *actually* appear on page.
Malinda Lo has a beautiful way of writing, whenever I read anything by her I always feel drawn into the pages. If she is talking about sandy beaches I feel the heat on my face, and the sand in between my toes. If she talks about brush strokes on a canvas, the stiff fabric feels as real to me as the thick paint that glides across it.
I also love the cover, it so perfectly encapsulates the feeling of the book and the title. The way it draws your eye across the page and is full of colors, the symbolism is very well done.
If I had to nitpick I wish the toxic relationship between
A must read for sure.
And the ending, while bittersweet, I don't think it could have ended any other way. BUT there were several threads and unanswered questions I had about several characters that felt very open ended and just left me with more questions. (Not always a bad occurrence, but still. I want to know who is engaged to who etc)
Graphic: Infidelity and Sexual content
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Death, Sexism, and Grief
Minor: Racism, Bullying, and Homophobia